ConsistoryGreetings Brothers, The fall season is now in full swing. We congratulate Illustrious Gary H. Kall who has just received his White Hat after receiving the 33° in Washington D.C in late August. Brother Kall is a very dedicated Mason having served in the Scottish Rite, York Rite, and the Grand Lodge. We also congratulate him on receiving the Demolay Active Legion of Honor. The Valley of Syracuse thanks him for all of the good work and dedication that he has given throughout the years.

Looking forward to October, on the 5th we will be in Oriskany for the Timothy O'Connor-Slater CLC Walk-a-Thon. The walk will commence at 10:00 a.m followed by a Chicken BBQ at 11:30 a.m. On October 14th, we will rehearse the 14° degree. October 21st, we will confer the 4° at 7:30 p.m, followed by refreshments. On October 28th, we will confer the 14° at 7:30 p.m.

Looking into November on the 11th, we will present our Veterans and Awards night. We look forward to seeing you all there as we honor our veterans and present awards to several deserving brothers. On November 23rd, we will be traveling to Rochester for their 1 day degree festival. The Valley of Syracuse will be conferring the 14°. The other degrees conferred that day will be the 4°, 9°, 20°, 31°, and 32°. More details will follow. We look forward to seeing you at these events and showing support.

Ill.'. Robert M. Tyrrell, 33°Commander in Chief

ChapterGreetings Brothers,Once again, we begin our Masonic Curriculum for the season. After a slow spring, and fast summerwith all the wind, rain and everything else that the Good Lord sent our way it seems that we havesomehow survived.

At least, we can be thankful that we were spared the disastrous mud slides, earthquakes, fires &floods that so many of our unfortunate Brothers suffered.

September will be a busy month. We start off September 9th with the Bring a Brother Kick off Dinner.September 23ed is the All Officers Meeting. Officers that have not been sworn in MUST attend, andbe sworn in. September 28th is the White Hat Dinner for Garry Kall.

Our next Degree presentation is the 18th Degree. Knight of the Rose Croix of H.R.D.M. This is a Beautiful Degree, and I am looking forward to meeting new and experienced cast members.

Lastly……….Thanks got out to all of our members that helped out with the ID program@ the New York State Fair.

Fraternally,George A. Laird III, 32°Most Wise Master

CouncilGreetings Brethren,The2013 Fall program for the Valley of Syracuse is off and running. The Kick-Off Brother Bring a Brother steak bake was held on Sept. 9th and went off well with several new prospective Brothers attending. The official welcome for the new class of candidates will be coming when the Lodge of Perfection confers the 4th Degree on October 21st.

Ill. Gary H. Kall, 33° was presented his White Hat at a special congratulatory dinner held in his honor on Sept. 28th.

There is still time to gather your sponsors and participate in the Walkathon held for the CNY Children’s Dyslexia Center, being held on Saturday October 5th on the Eastern Star Campus in Oriskany. Your generosity will help provide services to the youth in this program. The Valleys of Syracuse and Utica have committed fiscally to the Center as our Scottish Rite Charity of choice. Your support is needed. The event will be followed by a Chicken Bar-B-Q and bake sale. If you haven’t already done so, contact Craig Cobb or the Valley Office for additional information.

The LOP will also be conferring the 14th Degree on October 28th. There are rehearsals scheduled for the upcoming degrees, and as always, all Brothers are invited, welcomed, and encouraged to join in.

Dave Barnello, 32°Sovereign Prince

LodgeWith Fall in full swing and our Trestle Boards before us we began our work for the upcoming year with a successful Fall Kickoff and Brother Bring a Friend Night. The cast has been assigned and our first rehearsal was held for the 4th Degree which is scheduled for October 21. There will be a rehearsal on October 14 for the 14th Degree scheduled for October 28. Our new Candidates will be off to a flying start. They will be excited and confused and have many questions. This is our opportunity to enhance their Degree Experience and show what the Scottish Rite has to offer them. Introduce yourself, offer to answer their questions, tell them of your experiences as a Scottish Rite Mason. Make them feel at home, valued and an important part of our Valley. The impression we make on them from the beginning will determine what they do after becoming 32nd Degree Masons. Now is the time to form the bonds of friendship that will sustain our membership, provide us with future leaders and foster growth. Our new Brothers come seeking "further light". It is our job to provide it.

Leon Bulriss, 32°Thrice Potent Master

HospitalerGreetings Brothers, Last month I paid a visit to our Scottish Rite Brothers at the Masonic Home in Utica. Currently living there are Willard Bahn, Raymond Harvey, and George Black. I would urge anyone traveling in the area to take a few minutes and stop by the Home and say hello. Let these Brothers know they have not been forgotten.

Brother Chuck Davenport has requested that we keep his Dad, Charles Sr. in our thoughts and prayers. Charles has recently been diagnosed with cancer and needs our support. Brother Freman “Buzz” Chase (Valley of Utica) but a regular at Syracuse, has leukemia and needs our support as well.

Don’t forget Bro. Bob Herrik at Green Point, and Rollf Schwedes

Please contact me if you know of a Brother that is in need of our aid or sympathy. My plan is to reserve one day a month to visit those in need.

Dick Freeman, 32°Hospitaler

Bringing in New Members--and Keeping ThemBrother Sublime Princes,The Commander in Chief asked me to work on recruitment and retention. That is nothing but a fancy way of saying “getting Brothers into the Valley and keeping them here.” This is something we all must do together. I working on two things to help bring in Brothers and make them want to be here.

The first part is easy to describe. I believe we should start a speakers bureau that makes programs and events available to the Lodges in the Districts we serve. December’s Rose is a good example of a Scottish Rite program we offer the lodges in our area. Please contact me through Facebook, e-mail or by phone if you have a program you believe will help draw Brother Masons into Scottish Rite. The offerings will be collected in a document we can e-mail the Masters and secretaries of our Lodges to help them assemble their trestleboards.

The second part will start with a sign-in sheet at every Scottish Rite event and activity. The presiding officers and I want to know who attends our events. We also want to know why you make Scottish Rite a part of your activity and how we can encourage your involvement. A new program may grow out of the sign-in sheets, though that may take some time to develop.

Thank you for your support--and your effort in bringing and keeping Brothers in this Valley.